Tonga
The Tongan Parliament has passed a bill raising the legal marriage age from 15 to 18, addressing longstanding concerns over underage marriages in the kingdom. This legislative change aligns Tonga with global human rights standards and aims to protect children from early and forced marriages.
In 2016, alarming data revealed that 183 child marriages had been recorded over a three-year period, including 17 involving 15-year-olds. The previous law, the Parent Consent Act of 1926, allowed minors to marry with parental consent, a provision that has now been abolished.
In addition to raising the marriage age, the Parliament has amended existing statutes to explicitly ban same-sex marriages. While Tongan laws already prohibited same-sex sexual activities under the "sodomy" rule in the Criminal Offences Act, the new amendment provides clearer language reinforcing the ban on same-sex unions.
The abolition of the parental consent loophole is seen as a significant step toward protecting children's rights in Tonga. However, the explicit ban on same-sex marriages has raised concerns among human rights advocates, especially considering previous instances where individuals faced persecution due to their sexual orientation.
These legislative changes reflect Tonga's efforts to address social issues while also highlighting the ongoing tension between traditional values and human rights considerations.
